Osmosis Mom Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 Just considering if I should add in any focused readers for a high school geography class. Ds (and maybe dd as well) will be using So You Really Want to Learn Geography as well as some extra map-work/memo-work from a Walch book. Thought I could add in some interesting reads. Inspiration? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elizabeth Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 http://books.google.com/books?id=kLKTa_OeoNIC&dq=jared+diamond&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=oYQuIqHnlo&sig=UTZ3hgQO1t-uNoniaNxNSm-VRlQ&hl=en&ei=2gVISpLABoakMZfHtK8C&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=13 Superb books written by a geography Professor at UCLA . I also love this book about the spice trade http://www.amazon.com/Spice-History-Temptation-Jack-Turner/dp/0375707050/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1246234376&sr=1-2 As for historical fiction I loved this book http://www.amazon.com/Geographers-Library-Jon-Fasman/dp/0143036629/ref=ed_oe_p a fascinating peek into many disciplines, history, chemistry, mapmaking and alchemy. I really think that cultural anthropology is a great way to enjoy applied geography. There are many titles at amazon if you search cultural anthropology many great reads will be listed. I hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 I believe it is Ambleside that recommends "Kon Tiki" for Geography. This is based on a true story (if I remember correctly). Geographical regions would be South America and the South Pacific. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenda in MA Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne and anything by Bill Bryson. My son just finished In a Sunburnt Country about his travels in Australia and loved it. Brenda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osmosis Mom Posted June 29, 2009 Author Share Posted June 29, 2009 http://books.google.com/books?id=kLKTa_OeoNIC&dq=jared+diamond&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=oYQuIqHnlo&sig=UTZ3hgQO1t-uNoniaNxNSm-VRlQ&hl=en&ei=2gVISpLABoakMZfHtK8C&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=13 Superb books written by a geography Professor at UCLA . I also love this book about the spice trade http://www.amazon.com/Spice-History-Temptation-Jack-Turner/dp/0375707050/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1246234376&sr=1-2 As for historical fiction I loved this book http://www.amazon.com/Geographers-Library-Jon-Fasman/dp/0143036629/ref=ed_oe_p a fascinating peek into many disciplines, history, chemistry, mapmaking and alchemy. I really think that cultural anthropology is a great way to enjoy applied geography. There are many titles at amazon if you search cultural anthropology many great reads will be listed. I hope this helps. Thanks Elizabeth for the suggestions and the search-word "cultural anthroplogy". Nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osmosis Mom Posted June 29, 2009 Author Share Posted June 29, 2009 Thanks, Brenda and Angel. I'll look at the suggestions. Jules Verne is of course a classic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Depending on how 'adult' you want your reading to be, the detective novels by Qiu Xiao-long are the best picture I have seen of modern Chinese life. You might want to pre-read. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenda in MA Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Sonlight's Core 5. The books in this core would be easy for high schoolers, but there are some really good ones that do a great job of giving cultural insights. If you're looking just to supplement a geography study and not read these as "literature", easy reads might work really well. Here are a few of our favorites: Island of the Blue Dolphins -- Pacific Island Master Puppeteer -- Japan Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze -- China Seven Daughters, seven sons -- Middle East Kite Fighters -- Korea (one of my son's absolute faves!) Red Sand, Blue Sky -- Australia Ali & the Golden Eagle -- Saudi Arabia For Australia -- the movie rabbit-proof fence was interesting. It talks about the treatment of the aborigines. Brenda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
learning2gether Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 I'll be watching this as I plan to focus heavily on Geography this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ansbea Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 Any book ideas for Africa. We are doing around the world in 180 and would love to add to it. We are big readers here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 Any book ideas for Africa. We are doing around the world in 180 and would love to add to it. We are big readers here! Botswana is the setting for the First Lady Detective Agency books by Alexander McCall Smith (or is it Maccall Smith...). You can get a sense of the culture in this book, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 Just considering if I should add in any focused readers for a high school geography class. Ds (and maybe dd as well) will be using So You Really Want to Learn Geography as well as some extra map-work/memo-work from a Walch book. Thought I could add in some interesting reads. Inspiration? For the far north, Jack London has some work set up there. Songs of a Sourdough is poetry set in the gold rush in the far north (Canada, and perhaps Alaska). It's more humourous, but gives an idea of the harshness of the climate. So many of the books I can think of for Canadian geography are either darkish literary books or are nonfiction. You already have some other great suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheWhoWaits Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 My 9th grader is currently doing Around the World in 180 Days. (We homeschool year round). I assigned 1 book report for each continent. I gave him a list of approx. 10 books to choose from for each continent. I wish I could have gotten him to read all of them, because most of them were really excellent. I'll email my lists to any who request them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momee Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 I think it's year 7 that had some cool geography books on Ambleside Online's websites under curricula. Hth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kate in seattle Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Born Free - Joy Adamson I have heard good things about the movie "Duma". Flame Trees of Thika - book and TV series I married Adventure - Osa Johnson (this is a really old book by a woman who married a traveling photographer when he came through her small town. He went on to make travel documentaries about New Guinea and then became a game hunter/photographer in Africa. They built a huge lodge by a lake. I read it as a kid - this all happened in the 20's and 30's if I remember correctly) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 (edited) Hi Nadia, Not true "classics" but what I would consider to be "semi-classic"-- Louis L'Amour books do an interesting sweep of U.S. geography: http://www.louislamour.com/ , particularly in his Sackett novels. This link shows the Sackett stories and the best order in which to read them: http://www.louislamour.com/sackett/index.htm . For a checklist of all L'Amour novels, non-fiction and short story collection, their titles and ISBN numbers: http://www.louislamour.com/community/booklist.htm My youngest dd wasn't always a lover of novels but L'Amour captured her attention so I purchased all the Sackett novels from used book stores and also purchased the very useful book entitled: The Sackett Companion: The Facts Behind the Fiction, ISBN: 0-553-37102-9 . The companion book gives the intriguing stories behind the Sackett stories. Edited July 8, 2009 by Anna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-FL Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 For fun, King Solomon's Mines is set is So. Africa. The movies stink, but the book is great! It also gives you an interesting look at British Africa in the late 1800's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 It's not fiction, but I'd highly recommend Guns, Germs & Steel, not only because it is fascinating read, but because it's one of the best "popular" works in geography ever. I also think that all teens should read Dove. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 Why do you think all teens should read Dove? (just curious) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osmosis Mom Posted July 9, 2009 Author Share Posted July 9, 2009 Thanks, pals, for the great recommendations. There are some amazing reads here!! I actually just read The Geographer's Library and will be handing that one off to ds. BTW Guns, Germs, and Steel looks amazing. I also found a book called Salt, but haven't gotten my hands on it yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheWhoWaits Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 My 9th grader is currently doing Around the World in 180 Days. (We homeschool year round). I assigned 1 book report for each continent. I gave him a list of approx. 10 books to choose from for each continent. I wish I could have gotten him to read all of them, because most of them were really excellent. I'll email my lists to any who request them. Here it is almost 3 years later and I continue to get requests for these lists, so I have put them up on a website. Here is the link. https://sites.google.com/site/shewhowaitshomeschoolresources/ Be aware that some of these books contain material that you may consider inappropriate for your child. Please pre-read them. At some point I will add reading levels and comments about material parents should be aware of, so keep checking back if you want that information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memphispeg Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 I read the I Married Adventure book. Soooo, fine. There are also some books by Peter Matthiessen, non-fiction but, v. good, The Tree Where Man Was Born and The Sand Rivers about Africa. He wrote The Snow Leopard about the Himalayas.... Paul Theroux had some nice travel books too (The Great Railway Bazaar). There is a new one out about crossing Siberia that was excerpted in the New Yorker. And...lastly, Bruce Chatwin's In Patagonia (I read this after finishing Darwin's Beagle Voyages). I envy your child getting to read this kind of stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 Here it is almost 3 years later and I continue to get requests for these lists, so I have put them up on a website. Here is the link. https://sites.google.com/site/shewhowaitshomeschoolresources/ Be aware that some of these books contain material that you may consider inappropriate for your child. Please pre-read them. At some point I will add reading levels and comments about material parents should be aware of, so keep checking back if you want that information. Thanks so much for making your list accessible. I read your initial post and then saw the date. They are great lists and much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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